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[WSC Review Vol.25] Dual Moguls Japanese Athletes Performance
One step away from dominating the podium, Tae Satoya placing fourth
Besides the three athletes that stood on the podium, there were five other Japanese competitors in the dual moguls that took place on the eighth. Arisa Murata, the future hope, had a good match and finished the qualification at eleventh place. She was defeated in the first round of the finals competing against fellow teammate Miki Ito, but she acquired the courage to compete in big events, and showed her remarkable airs. This experience will definitely be a plus for her career.
Tae Satoya also glided through the qualification. She defeated the silver medalist of Salt Lake Olympics, Shannon Bahrke (USA) in the first round of the finals to proceed to the quarterfinals. She then went on to the semifinals, placing in the best four with Aiko Uemura and Miki Ito.
At this point the Japanese team secured at least two medals, and the large crowd was full of excitement.
In the semifinals, Satoya competed against younger teammate Miki Ito. She was defeated in this round, moving on to the consolation heat for third and fourth place against Hannah Kearney. If she won this match, the Japanese team would have phenomenally dominated the podium. But the winner of the World Cup showed her skills and overpowered Satoya, who finished fourth. She did not win a medal, but strongly appealed her comeback, and smiled to the crowd as they shouted “Good luck in Vancouver Tae!”
For men’s, Kai Ozaki was eliminated in the qualification, not being able to show a good performance. Osamu Ueno, who did not get through qualification yesterday and back for revenge, also made an unexpected mistake and did not proceed to the final rounds.
But veteran Yugo Tsukita showed a strong performance. He placed ninth in qualification to proceed to the final rounds. He continued to keep his flow through the final rounds, as he defeated Sho Kashima (USA) in the first round. He also had an exciting match in the quarterfinals with Alexandre Bilodeau (Canada), this season’s World Cup champion. They showed a great performance that both had the chance of winning, but the judges voted Bilodeau the winner by one point. The crowd sighed in disappointment, and he ended at seventh place. But the audience gave him a warm round of applause as the veteran showed his experienced skills once again.
